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Hope TD and TP aren't gassed out before Manu makes his return.
Ginobili begins to pester Pop to play
Mike Monroe
The war of wills has begun.
Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, 37 days removed from his last game action, said before Friday's game against the Boston Celtics that he has begun to pester coach Gregg Popovich to get back on the court.
With an eye on the playoffs, Popovich continues to turn a deaf ear to Ginobili's entreaties.
“I'm already asking for permission to do more,” said Ginobili, who was diagnosed with a stress reaction in his right distal fibula after the NBA All-Star break. “But you know how it works.”
Ginobili on Thursday participated in his first Spurs practice session since his diagnosis.
“He talked to me a little bit about where he is and what he'd like to do and what the plan might be for him as we finish out the season,” Popovich said. “We'll just try to make an intelligent decision so that we have him for the playoffs at 100 percent.”
While continuing to take a conservative approach to Ginobili's return from injury, Popovich sounded optimistic about what he has seen from the reigning Sixth Man Award winner.
“He hasn't had any setbacks at all,” Popovich said. “He's progressed each day. Different parts of his body have been sore as he's been trying to get back into shape. Other than that, the progression has been steady. Hopefully, within the next week or so, we'll see him.”
When does Ginobili think he will crack Popovich's resolve to keep him on the sidelines?
“Soon,” he said, “soon.”
Meeting a legend: Spurs captain Tim Duncan is scheduled for a sit-down today with legendary Celtics great Bill Russell, the Hall of Fame center who won 11 championships, more than any player in league history.
Russell is in San Antonio to tape an interview with Duncan for NBA TV and to participate in tonight's George Gervin Roast.
“That should be pretty cool,” Duncan said of his one-on-one with Russell, one of the greatest defensive centers in league history. “Can you imagine winning 11 championships? How ticked off do you think he was in the years he didn't win?”
Louder, please: Late in the first half Friday, Spurs point guard Tony Parker dribbled into the front court, picked up his dribble and called for a timeout. None of the three referees, distracted by Boston center Kendrick Perkins and Duncan in a minor skirmish, paid him any heed.
Finally, Parker screamed at the top of his lungs and got the timeout called.
Hope TD and TP aren't gassed out before Manu makes his return.
I'm very upbeat now that I've read Pop's comments.. though he really doesn't say much, one can read between the lines that Manu has made good progress and he appears ok after getting some practice time.. now all Pop has to do is keep turning a deaf ear to manu's pleas to be activated.. keep him sitting Pop until he gets so pissed off that when he does play he takes it out on the compe ion.
I knew it was just a matter of time.
Manu practiced yesterday and then participated in shootaround today, so that means he wasn't in too much pain the day after his first practice in a while......
great to see progress..that's all that matters..
hopefully all our patience will pay off in the end.
Getting Manu 100% and back in the fold, regardless of it's 1 or 2 weeks, is the only option. No near 100% Manu? No chance.
Great!
Just Great news
Manu seems to be getting healthy
And Tim looked better physically against boston
We're finally getting healthy!!!
And gooden as well
In the next week or so, the REAL rotation will be fixed
Hopefully, we have enough time to build the chemistry
Exactly right..
good news! here comes the spurs juggernaut. Be afraid!
Manu will be back soon!!!!
I never heard of a juggernaut getting injured so frequently.
Tim, manu and tony all needed time to play at their best when they came back from injuries this season.
i really can't see manu being at 100 % for the PO. but when i see how all the spurs perimeters players outside tony are playing righ now on offense, i'll take a 50 % manu without hesitation. hope it will be enough.....
I'd like to see Pop doing what Doc did with KG yesterday.
Play Manu 8 minutes or so tomorrow and keep increasing it.
Exactly, what would be the harm in that? If his recovery is normal, the bone has healed. And, he just needs to condition himself back into the game.
Hold him out for at least ONE more game.
DD
the guy's been out a month and just started practicing this week. he's the key to any chance we have this season and we can't just throw him out there. he'll be out there when he's ready.Exactly, what would be the harm in that? If his recovery is normal, the bone has healed. And, he just needs to condition himself back into the game.
I'd like to see that too but I bet we're another week away from seeing Ginobli on the court.
Still I'm happy with the news of him practicing and participating in a shoot around.
Manu came back too soon the first time. I think he was still favoring the other foot and caused his good leg to develop the problem we see now.
I think that is why Pop is being overly cautious with Manu this time, to try to prevent further injury if at all possible.
I don't doubt that, that could very well be true.
frequently?? For the way he plays, he's hardly ever injured. And you can't ask Manu to change the way he plays...it's wouldn't be Manu...he wouldn't be nearly as effective. He's played a of a lot more games than he's missed.
This is all that really matters.“He hasn't had any setbacks at all,” Popovich said. “He's progressed each day. Different parts of his body have been sore as he's been trying to get back into shape. Other than that, the progression has been steady. Hopefully, within the next week or so, we'll see him.”
I'm probably way off on this, but here's the facts. I had a dream last night...no joke. I dreamed that the Spurs were playing Houston, and it was a tight game. Manu was in a warmup, but the media was told he would not play. Then, the Spurs put Manu in the game. He scored 12 points, but brought a spark, and the Spurs won. It's weird. I doubt it will happen, but I figured I'd share it. Can't get it out of my head.
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